Eagle Otome spill causing residents confusion

Published 12:00 am, Wednesday, May 12, 2010

To many Southeast Texas residents, the paperwork from a lawyer made it clear: If they filed a court claim over illnesses suffered in the state's worst oil spill in 15 years, they'd get $1,000.

The problem is, the legal packet they got in the mail didn't come from lawyers representing residents. It actually came from the owner of the tanker that spilled 462,000 gallons of crude oil near the Port of Port Arthur - and that company says the mailing was not offering a settlement payment of any sort. The company, AET Inc., says the documents were explaining that the company was not at fault.

In all, more than 19,000 people have filed claims against AET - creating a backlog that forced a Beaumont federal court to temporarily halt the case. Most claims are from people who said fumes from the spill led to vomiting, headaches and burning eyes.

After receiving the legal packet in February, many residents mistakenly believed the attorney representing the tanker owner was their lawyer and that by simply filing a claim, they'd be getting money.